Patient Choice Schemes
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 29 April to Question 129461, if he will outline (a) on what basis areas will be determined as having the highest health need; (b) a timeline for when the Choice Charter will be release; and (c) what the consultation process is for the development of the Charter.
Answered by Karin Smyth
The Government is committed to giving patients greater choice and control over their care. Patients have a legal right to choose where they go for their first appointment, when referred to consultant-led care as an outpatient.
The 10-Year Health Plan committed to a new ‘Choice Charter’, that will be rolled out progressively in areas of highest health need. The Choice Charter states five ‘mechanisms’ that sit within it, one of which is the commitment to the right to choose in electives.
We will set out further information on the Choice Charter in due course.
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